What Languages You Are Likely to Hear in Idaho?

Idaho is a national treasure. It is no wonder that people from all over come. Idaho also has a steady influx of refugees coming in from all over. By now you also probably know that Idaho, specifically Boise is home to the largest Basque population outside of Southwestern Europe. With all of this diversity, what languages can you expect to hear the most often in Idaho?

Today is International Mother Language Day. National Today says, "The first observance was organized by UNESCO as a celebration of linguistic and cultural diversity. There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world — this is a large number considering that some languages are better documented and more spoken than others."

According to the Idaho Department of Labor, "In Idaho, 10.4 percent of the population 5 years of age and older uses a primary language other than English in the household, ranking 28th in the nation."

So, what languages other than English are most common in Idaho? The most recent studied census data from the department of labor shows that, "Spanish speakers representing 74.9 percent of people speaking a language other than English, and Idaho ranks fourth in concentration after the southern border states of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico."

The next most common language used behind English and Spanish is other "Indo-European languages, a group which incorporates German, French, and Serb-Croatian. Next, Asian and Pacific Island languages are the third most prevalent in Idaho, Chinese – that includes Cantonese, Mandarin and other Chinese Languages."

Stacker highlighted languages in Idaho with an article titled, Most common languages spoken at home in Greater Idaho Falls and surrounding regions. Its findings got more specific. According to their study, the following spoken most commonly in order after English. #1. Spanish, #2. Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese), #3. Portuguese, #4. Japanese, #5. French (incl. Cajun), #6. German, #7. Tagalog (incl. Filipino), #8. Nepali, Marathi, or other Indic languages, #9. Russian, #10. Navajo." - see more details on Stacker here.